That strange shade of blue
by Noa Golden
Summary: A strange man with a time travelling box. A strange girl with time travelling powers. 'Nuff said.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's ramblings :_

 _'Ello. New Guy around here, first fic. Hopefully it isn't_ that _bad, and hopefully I might be able to do a few chapters, but don't get your hopes up. Oh, and please Read & Review!_

As soon as Max realised what kind of power she had, she knew trouble would come with it. And not just because of that psycho Nathan Prescott in the girls' bathroom. Or that uber-creepy nightmare she had in class. No, something else was going on in Blackwell - heck, in all Arcadia Bay. Yet she couldn't quite seem to put a finger on it. Yet.

Max was still stirred up by the sight of the gunshot and the bloody punk girl collapsing. Not to mention her weird powers. She felt like her insides were put in a mixing machine and she was ready to vomit it all out. But life continued for her, and a vibration from her phone quickly reminded her that Warren needed his flash drive. Okay, Max, she said to herself. Just go in your room, get the flash drive and you can finish this freaking hell of a day.

She frantically walked herself to the girl's dorm in the cool autumn breeze, bathed in the warm orange sunlight. At least that eases the stress. As if nature heard my torment, she joked. She heard the new janitor whistle pleasingly as he swept the road. Samuel apparently was on medical vacation due to his poor back. Max left a little thought for him, wishing that he would be OK, and then smiled at the current janitor, who just made his bucket fall and cursed it with that funny English swagger he had. The little smile on her face dropped the second she saw Victoria sitting in front of the entrance with her two "BFF's". Max took a deep breath and faced her head-on.

\- Oh look, it's Max Caulfield, the selfie ho of Blackwell, the vile serpent hissed.

She continued talking, circling Max as if it was a prey to feed on. The viper took a photo of poor Maxine saying she'll post it all over the internet and took a seat back with the cruel saying : " Why don't you go fuck your selfie? ".

Oh yes, Victoria. I'll make sure you regret it. Max analysed her surroundings, a brilliant plan was starting to form in her mind. Suddenly, a voice shattered her train of thought.

\- Oi! Don't you idiots have something better to do?! Picking on such a smart girl, shame on you!

Max was surprised to see the janitor standing up for her. He seemed gitty, energetically pointing an accusing finger to the head of the group. Not that Victoria seemed to care.

\- Excuse me? , she croaked. I could have you fired in less than an hour just for that, you fool.

\- Well, go ahead, see if I care. Plenty of other jobs in this little town of yours.

He then held up a bucket of what seemed to be white paint, saying with a smirk :

\- Of course, I'd hate to spill this paint on you accidentally out of anger - did I mention this is permanent?

A heap load of bad energy came out of Victoria's stare. A stare that gave Max goosebumps riding her arms, as she took a cautionary step backwards. She thought it was a bit stupid to do so just because of two angry-looking eyeballs, but hey, who actually cares?

\- You wouldn't dare...

The eyeballs amped it up, weighing on the janitor's own determined stare. But he didn't wait for another word as he threw the bucket and the liquid spurt out, neatly spilling all over Victoria's nice little cashmire.

\- OH MY GOD! You are so going down for this !

\- Hey! Don't run around, you'll splash some on someone important!, called the man with a smug.

Max had to light up a smile seeing the serpent biting it's tail, squirming around. She also thought of some other move she could do...

\- Wait, hold that pose!, she said while taking a polaroid.

The click sound and the flash of the machine made Victoria twitch up, much to Max's delight. She then picked the photo out and brushed it in the air.

\- ... And no filter needed for this bad boy. Now step aside so I can relax in my room.

Max enjoyed this. Maybe a little too much, even for her liking. She saw the janitor next to her staring at her, probably because he didn't like what she was doing. But she never intended to keep things this way. As soon as she was finished, she rewound time far enough to be out of harm's way. God, that felt good. I might just have some use to this thing. Whatever it is.

Victoria didn't stay for long, she quickly returned to her room for towels. Max just wanted to take a few minutes to thank the janitor.

\- Um... Thanks by the way. You didn't have to risk your job for me.

\- Oh, don't worry about me. Never could hold a job for more than two months. And did you look at the heaps of work to do! No wonder old Samuel cracked a bone, eh?

Max and the janitor both laughed heartedly. The vibration of Max's phone in her pocket reminded her why she was here.

\- Sorry, I have to go. Pleasure meeting you, Mr. ... ?

\- Smith. John Smith's the name. But tell you what, most people just call me "the Doctor".

\- OK then, Doctor.

She hopped up the stairs, thinking about how funny it was to meet an Englishman named John Smith.

The Doctor than carried on with his business and Max with hers. The strange man looked up one more time to make sure he was seeing things right.

\- Gotcha, he smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2._**

\\\Parking lot/

Max left Warren in a hurry, escaping from Nathan Prescott's evil presence. He and Warren shared a couple of hits, before being interrupted by Mr Madsen. Well, more like Nathan beat the shit out of him while the young geek just tried to land a few soft blows on Nathan's sides. Just as much damage as hitting with a pillow.

But hey, at least Max got away safely. Plus, he was still alive, and with his very own battle scar! Even though he lost the fight with blood and swollen cheeks, he felt awesome.

Nathan ran off immediately after Madsen scowled him. The security guard then accompanied the wounded one to the infirmary to get patched up. His face was still throbbing with pain, but at least it wasn't bleeding anymore. Warren wondered why his opponent didn't go to the principal's office. He should, right? _Probably has a "get out of jail free" card_ , he thinks to himself while getting back to the parking lot. He quickly checked his car for any damage, due to the fight. Once he made sure of it, he searched for his keys, which fell somewhere during the brawl. He got a little worried when he couldn't find them, and then _really_ worried when checking his pockets again, mentally slapping himself for not immediately taking the keys instead of leaving them on the ground for anyone's keeping.

\- Looking for these?, a man's voice echoed.

Warren quickly turned around, looking at the new brown-haired, skinny, big-chinned janitor, he named Mr Smith. He was wiggling his car keys, much to Warren's relief.

\- Yes! My god, thank you. Really got worried for a second; I thought I lost them for good!

\- Happy to help. (He paused to get a good look at the young boy's face.) Blimey! That rich fella really got you good. Should look better in two days time, though.

Taken aback, Warren comes to a pretty obvious conclusion.

\- You... You saw that fight?

-Yes, I did. And between you and me, that was quite a noble move, taking the blow for a girl. Stupid, yeah, but noble all the same.

The boy/hero felt pride mixed with a hint of embarassment heating his swollen cheeks. An interesting new set of feelings, he thought to himself.

\- Yeah, well, I did what I could. See you around, Mr Smith. And thanks again!

Warren beeped open his car and was ready to swing the door out when the janitor's white hand firmly blocked it.

\- Wait. Truth be told, I actually wanted to talk to you before the fight. What can you tell me about _Max Caulfield_?

\\\\.../

Max and Chloe arrived at the Price residence. Thing is, every little detail of the house flooded Max with nostalgia. Everything except for Chloe's room, proof that she really has changed in 5 years.

Going back to her main mission (fixing her camera), she quickly dribbled down the stairs and passed through the living room, only to stop dead on a rather peculiar sight. She didn't know why, yet she knew it was the weirdest thing she saw today, which was saying a lot. Through the window giving sight to the garden, she saw a wooden blue box marked as a police telephone cabinet. _That's a pretty cool shade of blue_ , she thought. _Kind of reminds me of a really good photographer who took pictures of these police booths all the time... What was his name?_

Her thought was immediately halted when she received a text from Warren. It was a selfie of him with his banged-up face. He probably sent it just for her to feel guilty. Which worked really good.

 _Thx for stepping in, Warren. I owe u big time._

 _Yeah, you do! What the hell did that douchebag Nathan want anyway?_

 _Long story. I'll get you up to speed. Promise._

 _BTW, you know the new janitor Mr Smith? He came up just after the fight. Asked a lot of questions about u_

 _Really? What did you say?_

 _Not much, I tried to be as vague as possible. But he was acting weird. Just be careful around him, k?_

 _OK. Thanks for the heads up. AND the beating. I'll call back later, ok? I SWEAR._

\\\\.../

Moving back up with the tools to repair her trusty camera , Max quickly headed to Chloe's room. She then set herself on the desk like Chloe said to. While she was making repairs, silence fell in the room, the kind that even the soothing music which was playing in the background couldn't fill. Eventually, Max decided to do some smalltalk.

\- So... Since when do you have an English blue telephone box in your garden?

Chloe looked up from her chilled stance with a deep look of confusion on her face.

\- You know, that imposing dark-blue police cabinet? Right in the corner.

\- You're high, dude, she said while getting up. If it was so imposing, I probably woulda noticed. And if it was _police_ , I'd probably burn it to hell.

\- Stop messing with me, I know what I saw. Look... There, it was right...

They both approached the window near the desk, giving a bird's-eye view of the garden, only to find it completely empty of big blue boxes.

\- ...there, Max ended.

\- See? We Prices don't have that much of a bad taste...

Chloe padded back to her bed, leaving Max even more confused. She stared back at the garden to look at it better. That's when she saw crumpled dark grass forming a square. She was right about two things : that wooden box _was_ there, and it really _was_ the weirdest sight of the day.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's ramblings :**_

 _A bit shorter, this one, but I felt like I had to pace the story a bit more. Hope you enjoy._

 _To_ The10thDoctor1964 _: thanks, dude! I'll try to keep this flowing!_

 ** _\\\\.../_**

 _Tuesday._

Max woke up early and light-headed. She researched everything there was to know about time travel last night. She dreamed of sleeping just a bit longer, but Chloe was texting her out of bed. Max couldn't refuse. She got out immediately, after also checking on Kate. Max was worried about her, ever since she heard of the viral video she was starring. Against her will, obviously. _Why doesn't anyone see she wasn't acting like her normal self, God dammit? People are assholes._

Getting out of the dorm, she quickly jerked to her right to see the janitor's closet. The Doctor himself was not in sight, which was a relief. She had been extra careful not to cross paths with the man ever since Warren warned her. She avoided being around the closet yesterday when coming back because the Doctor was just outside of it. Today, though, was a golden opportunity : the closet was open.

 _Let's see what this Doctor really wants with me. Knowledge is power, after all._

As soon as she opened the door, her mouth dropped in awe. Everywhere Max laid her eyes on, some technical, scrap-rigged gizmo stared right back at her. Wires were hanging everywhere, lights flickered and sounds beeped. What's more, even with all these crowding machines, the room still felt slightly... Bigger ?

This was beyond strange. But it gets stranger. From the rim of the second door in front of her, she saw a white light, dashed with the tiniest hint of blue. The lock was one she never saw, one surely crafted in a hurry, like all the rest : it needed some kind of circular key. Curiosity taking the best of her (as always), she approached the door. _Locked. Of course._ She didn't have much more to think about before the janitor startled her from behind. He wasn't wearing his work outfit, but rather a tweed jacket and pants combined with a red bow tie. A funny combo that would have made her smile, if it were anybody else.

\- Fancying a morning snoop ?, the Doctor said with a smug. Don't worry, I'm not going to scowl you or anything, I have a bad history of snooping around too.

The teenager immediately raised her defences.

\- Yeah, I heard, she said crossing her arms. Why the hell are you stalking me ?

The Doctor's smug dipped ever so slightly and a tint of guilt could be read on his face.

\- ... Well, I guess you were bound to know sooner or later. But know that I wasn't _stalking_ you, I was... Searching information. Wait, does that count as harassment ?

\- Yes, it completely does.

\- Ah, well, sue me. You won't have to worry about today, though. It's my day off. I'll be... Out of town, doing... Stuff. Completely normal stuff.

Max rolled her eyes over the awkwardly camouflaged thing he was about to do. Meanwhile, the Doctor scrambled through the tech junk he had only to scuff out a sort of overly complicated remote control.

\- Listen, I appreciate you standing up for me yesterday, but don't ask my friends about me. If you have anything to say, say it here and now.

\- As a matter of fact, I do have something important to tell you. (He paused and stared Max down long enough to give sudden shivers to the teen.) Some terrible things are going down in this town. And I mean big, bad things. So when you're ready - and trust me, you will be - come see me. By then, I might have figured out a few things.

Max smirked.

\- Like hell, I will, she answered sarcastically. I'm not about to team up with someone stalking me.

\- Ha ! You teenagers, always think you have the sassiest answer. Now run along, Max. I have to play with my toys.

\\\\.../

The Doctor scouted all around Arcadia Bay. He was in the town park, acting like a maniac. Then again, he always acted like a maniac, but this was the one time he actually had a good reason. His multiple "toys" kept buzzing to his attention. He sat on a nearby bench, took off his earphones and rubbed his eyebrows in anxiety. The situation in this town was worse than he thought.

For nearly 3 weeks, he had been stuck in Arcadia Bay. No way in, no way out. Something similar to a time lock was put in place on the span of a month or so, but he could tell it wasn't Time Lord technology. And if a time lock was put in place, something really ominous was going on here. He had never in all his lives seen such broken timelines in one lonely town. The snow yesterday was just a sample of what's coming next. And the TARDIS...

Then again, nobody seemed to care. Not yet, anyway. Children just kept laughing, truckers kept driving, teens kept their "teen attitude"... Until nobody did anything. Everyone and everything around the Doctor froze in time, and it didn't take more than two non-existing seconds to figure out the cause.

\- Oh, Max... What have you done?


	4. Chapter 4

_Monday. TARDIS._

The Doctor was in one of the many study rooms, trying to test a new feature he programmed for his sonic screwdriver. The TARDIS itself was in deep space, away from anything and everything. Then, the Time Lord heard his ship land somewhere on her own accord. He wasn't surprised; Sexy often took the commands to lead him where he _should_ go. But he had got the habit of being weary and checking instantly where he had landed, ever since the TARDIS dropped him in the middle of a Cyberman legion. She could get cocky, sometimes.

Thankfully, it wasn't anything like that. The monitor hanging out of the central control panel said they were on Earth, in 2013, America, Oregon... Arcadia Bay? _Never heard of that one before_ , he thought to himself. _Why here, Sexy? What am i supposed to do?_ Acting quickly, he switched the readings to the scanner, so he could see outside the box. He saw a nice little house garden and the residence next to it; it was painted blue, but only half way. That's when he saw the girl through the window.

She was wearing a blank pair of jeans, a white t-shirt with a dear on it and a grey jacket on top, coupled with a bag hanging across one of her shoulders. What's more, she was looking straight at the TARDIS.

\- Oh, come on! Couldn't you at least wait 'till I put on the perception filter?, the mad man said to his box.

Sexy didn't answer. Usually, a groan would be heard, or a gear shifting, or a switch switching, or a _ding!_ dinging. Nothing now. The TARDIS was struggling with something, and the Doctor didn't like it.

Suddenly, the commands went crazy. The man tried taking control, but an explosion from the control panel sent him flying down the stairs.

The box disappeared from the garden.

\\\\.../

 _Wednesday. Early night._

Max saved Kate. She _saved_ her. And even without her powers. Dispite all she said to others, she was quite full of herself. She felt... Invincible.

Chloe was waiting for her in the main campus. As she went through the outside dormitory, she heard some noise in the janitor's closet. She scoffed to herself. _I can solve this myself. Who needs a shady creep who calls himself the Doctor? Probably doesn't even have a degree._ A loud bang was heard from the closet followed by the Doctor's complaints, and Max left, scoffing again.

\\\\.../

 _Morning. Price residence._

 _Okay, so now, I need the password. Should be easy._

Max was in the Price's garage, serving as David Madsen's headquarters or whatever. She led herself around and searched thoroughly, testing every possible password in the room. Finally, she managed to unlock the computer, and all of David's files were hers to see.

She tried to make it quick, but it was hard not to look at everything. There was a file on Kate, one on her for whatever reason, and the one she was looking for : Rachel Amber. _There's Rachel and Frank. Being more than friendly. Man, Chloe is not going to like this..._ She rapped up in a haste, closing all the windows, when she noticed something on the dashboard : a file named John Smith.

The girl immediately clicked on the file, curious to know what David found on him. Unfortunately, there wasn't very much compared to the other files, but one picture, one insanely impossible black-and-white photo was in it. In the background, you could see a police box and next to it, the hole group of the Beatles. In the foreground, bottom-right corner, there was a young man in a tweed jacket brushing his hair back. He was facing away a bit, but those eyebrows, that chin, those eyes were obviously his. _John Smith. That's him. That's definitely him. It can't be..._ Maxine started to connect all the dots. The blue box, the weird stalking and double-meanings in his words, his looks. She didn't want to admit it, but the evidence was right there. He was like her. He was a time traveler. Only on a much bigger scale.

\\\\.../

 _Evening._

Up until now, she didn't have to think about it. She didn't have the time to ponder on the Doctor, and frankly, she didn't want to. Dispite now knowing why he had such an interest in her, she still couldn't trust a guy who was stalking her. She was sort of scared. But now, ever since her leap of time five years back, the town scared her even more. She warped Arcadia Bay beyond recognition. More birds were starting to die, and even whales on the seashore, and she knew why. She _knew_. Yet she didn't care. She only needed to see Chloe. Max managed to make it back to the Price residence. Oddly enough, the blue paint was now completely covering the house, another reminder that she wasn't art home. She knocked on the door. Startled to see William opening, alive and well, she immediately asked for Chloe. William called her. The once rebellious and fearless girl came out, smiling at her best friend. Only she wasn't that strong girl anymore. She was disabled, put on a wheelchair and forced to breath by a respirator. All because of Max.

Max was in shock. She didn't know what to say. She wanted to scream, to dig her nails deep into her face's skin as punishment. But after her thoughts got more or less cleared, she knew what she needed to do.

She needed to see the Doctor.


	5. Chapter 5

_To_ Deity : _sry for not responding sooner. I'm so glad you like this! I'm having a blast writing it, and hopefully with this chapter you'll all get where I'm going. On, and for the dialogues, sorry you're confused. We French just like to complicate things, but I'll try to make it more intelligible ;)_

 _On with the show!_

Wednesday _night._

Max immediately headed back to Blackwell, right after rewinding her encounter with Chloe. She hated herself for doing it. She hated herself for all the damage that she caused. She was being selfish, using and abusing her powers. She had to go see someone with more experience than her, and only one man on earth could do it, let alone not send her to an asylum.

She paced to the janitor's closet with a heavy heart and messed up thoughts in her mind. She didn't even know if this alternate Doctor actually had the conversation they had yesterday, but she didn't care. She knocked on the door with a shaking hand and very soon, the Doctor popped his head out.

\- I'm ready, she said feebly.

The Doctor smiled at her. Thank God, he knew.

\- I know you are.

He let her in the technological hazard and approached the white door while taking out a fancy pocket watch from his pocket.

\- Nice move saving Kate, by the way. Must've been hard to convince her.

Max brushed the compliment off. That was the last thing she needed right now. She didn't even know if Kate was still alive in this timeline.

The pocket watch fit the lock perfectly, and then repeated clicks of machinery could be heard from behind it.

\- Why go to such extents for a door? , she asked.

\- What's in there can't defend itself. Not anymore. I had to improvise.

Finally, the door opened on it's own accord, showing the infamous blue box right behind it. The Doctor quickly pushed both doors of the box and walked away into the darkness. Max followed, being cautious not to bump into walls, but as her hands reached out, she couldn't feel any, making her feel dizzy. Suddenly, a clap echoed, which activated dim red lights all around, showing how huge the box really was. The walls were made of steel, giving it a fierce and cold look, especially with this kind of lighting. Towards the centre of the room, a giant glass pillar reached the roof all the way down, with some sort of control panel all around it. The Doctor was standing next to it. Finally, he spoke.

\- It's called a TARDIS. It can go anywhere in time and space... And it's dying.

\- ... It's... Alive?

Suddenly, the doors behind her shut tight with a loud bang, making Max spin around. The Doctor smiled.

\- That's her way of saying shut up, he said.

Max couldn't process everything. Not only because of all the Doctor was showing, but also because of the shock seeing Chloe. The only thing she could say was a pretty obvious question.

\- ... Your name isn't John Smith, is it?

\- You catch on quick. Here's another shocker : I'm not human. Come on.

The alien quickly skitted downstairs, leaving Max even more confused than the first time she used her powers. Which she didn't think was possible.

\- ... _What?_

\- Yeah, I get that a lot. Come down here, I need to show you something.

The girl followed, still confused, but she just assumed this was going to be the new normal. At least for a while. The Doctor opened a compartment, digging out a wired up helmet. He then fiddled with it, plugged some wires into the bottom of the console and gave the helmet to her. She backed up, blocking herself by putting her forearm across her body. The Doctor sighed.

\- OK, we get it, you don't trust me. But in order for this to work, you need to _see_ what I can _feel_.

Halfheartedly, she reached out and put the helmet on. Her view was completely blocked by the black display glass in front of her eyes.

\- Can't see anything, she chimed.

\- Yeah, hang on a sec, I never tried this on a human.

 _Well, that's heap loads of reassuring._ Immediately after, something clicked, and white figures shaped out on the display, flowing through solid objects, letting her see around her, a bit like Daredevil's echolocation. Another click was heard, and more figures formed this time fluctuating everywhere, but... Something was wrong. These white, abstract lines were broken. Shredded in pieces, floating endlessly. The shards looked so sharp, she almost thought it could cut her when they coursed through her body. And with every shard she looked at, she saw... Time itself. Flooding in her head like a tsunami. It was too much. She quickly snatched off the helmet and threw it away.

\- W-what was that? , she panicked, her head throbbing.

\- Timelines. Everything that ever happened, or ever will. Shattered by an earthquake... Of rather earthquakes. It's what's killing the TARDIS. And you're the epicentre.

\- Yeah, I kinda got that with the dead whales on the shore. I'm not here to feel guilty, I'm here to find a solution.

\- We'll get to that part. Eventually. But I can tell you it's not entirely your fault.

Max's face lit up ever so slightly. Just for half a second, though. She knew it was wrong, but she let the Doctor continue.

\- It's pretty straight forward, actually. You've been exposed to the Time Vortex, and boom! Time travel powers. But just having time travel doesn't mess up timelines this easily. Trust me, I know. See, my race had this... This _thing_ that we invented, supposedly living in the Time Vortex to explain every TARDIS that was lost, or acting crazy, or completely reduced to dust at the arrival. They're usually represented as imp-like creatures, causing mischief. Of course, nobody actually saw any, and since nobody could explain the how or why, we just named them... The Unthinkable.

\- ... So, I have a sort of imp around me tampering with my powers.

\- Imps, probably. And it gets worse. The hole town has been trapped in a time lock - no way in, no way out - over the span of a month, give or take. Whoever trapped us doesn't want the Unthinkable tearing the hole universe apart. And _that's_ why they're causing such mayhem with your powers. _That's_ why they're causing such huge butterfly effects.

\- I... I don't get it.

The Doctor rubbed his face and sighed over a confused Max. These stuff were hard to explain.

\- Say, if you have a mass genocide that will forever alter the course of history, like maybe a tornado forming in less than a week. Well, that becomes a fixed point in time. And you can't trap a fixed point in time. Not with this type of Time lock, anyway.

Max was starting to get it. But this was so much bigger than her.

\- OK, so, how do we stop them? , Max asked, desperate to know. How do we put things back the way they were?

\- ... I don't really know. Just testing stuff out, see how they react.

She wasn't very satisfied with the answer, but she let that slide.

\- Wait, if this creature is alien folklore or whatever, how come you're so sure they're responsible?

\- Because I've never been so afraid in my life.


End file.
